Building Personal and Spiritual Growth

Building Personal and Spiritual Growth

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I hated Algebra in high school. Geometry, however, made sense to me. I really liked ‘if-then’ statements like this:  If a = b, and b = c, then a = c. It works great when you have to find the angle of a parallelogram. But often we adapt...
Pushing Past Hurts to Build Deep Relationships

Pushing Past Hurts to Build Deep Relationships

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You’ve probably heard this quote by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: “If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” Many of us dream of having great relationships with a spouse, children, co-workers, neighbors, friends or extended family. Even self-professed...
Change Bad Habits with the Power of Replacement

Change Bad Habits with the Power of Replacement

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Replacement is my new watchword. It’s my key to changing anything I don’t like about my life. This may seem simplistic and even intuitive but let’s see how well we measure up with this little quiz. The Vacuum of Habit If you answered true to any of these questions,...
Overcoming the Need to “Medicate” Emotional Pain

Overcoming the Need to “Medicate” Emotional Pain

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It is human nature to flinch and flee from physical and emotional pain. And the torment from abandonment, rejection, verbal abuse, and shame can linger long after physical trauma has healed. But because those wounds are on the inside where no one can see them and...
What’s in a Name?: Finding Our Real Identity

What’s in a Name?: Finding Our Real Identity

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I remember when I was 17 waking up nearly naked in a strange bed next to a young man I barely recognized. I also remember gathering up my remaining clothes and fleeing. Later, I couldn’t help asking myself what had happened. I knew I had gone to a friend’s...

What’s Your Apple?

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Long before Steve Jobs brought this fruit to the center of everyone’s vocabulary, another apple changed man (and woman) forever.   One of the things I love about the Scriptures is that they are a never ending treasure trove of discoveries. If Methuselah, the...

Lamping Up the Corners

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When I was young, my parents converted the attic of our A-frame house into a master bedroom. When the empty-nest years came, they moved into a new home and I took over the house and the attic. I loved that space! I especially loved the little storage alcoves created...

“Hi, my name’s Kim…”

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“Hi, my name’s Mary and I’m an alcoholic and pathological liar.”“Hi, my name’s Javier and I’m an emotionally-abused enabler who doesn’t know how to say no.”“Hi, my name’s Frieda and I’m a thief and a manipulator.”“Hi, my name’s Bob and I’m two-faced and addicted to...